USOC picks Salt Lake City to bid for 2030 Winter Olympics

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has chosen Salt Lake City to bid for the 2030 Winter Games.

Salt Lake City earned widespread praise for successfully hosting the 2002 Winter Games, making a return appearance seem almost inevitable.

After months of lobbying by city leaders, the USOC chose Salt Lake City over Denver and Reno, Nevada, to make the bid.

"We are truly humbled and honoured to be the USOC's choice to bid for a future Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games," Salt Lake City mayor Jackie Biskupski said in a statement.

"We take our role as a member of the Olympic family seriously and look forward to showing the international community how Salt Lake City is ready, willing, and able to host a modern, sustainable, and athlete focused Games which further the spirit of sport and the Olympic and Paralympic movements."

Also helping Salt Lake City's bid is the fact the necessary Olympic facilities are already in place, and have been upgraded in some cases.

A local audit showed those facilities only needed about $40million in upgrades to prepare for upcoming Games, and the state has already approved money to begin improvements. Contrast that with the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, where organisers spent more than $100m on the Olympic Stadium alone.

The International Olympic Committee is expected to announce the 2030 Winter Games site in 2023.